Life of Mine
by au.stories
Summary: Sequel to "Ghost of Me". Klaus and Jenna arrive in New Orleans. While Jenna is still adjusting to life as a vampire, Klaus is already plotting his next move in order to regain power over the French Quarter.
1. Prolog

**This is the sequel to my other story: Ghost of Me. Klaus and Jenna arrive in New Orleans and meet the other Mikaelson's, Marcel, Sophie and the other witches. There will be no hyrid baby storyline and probably no Haley either (unless maybe as a Elijah/Haley pairing).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals or any of the characters in this story.**

* * *

**Prolog**

He had come here as fast as he could. Still, it hadn't been fast enough. Klaus knew it would be bad, but nothing had him prepared for the sight before him. The blond vampire was chained to a chair in the middle of the room. Around her was dried blood on the floor and on the wall behind her, not to mention a good amount of it was on her clothes. Empty syringes lay scattered on the floor and the hybrid thought he faintly smelled vervain in the air. Above her seemed to be some kind of window that could be shut with a metal door. No doubt this was used to torture the young vampire with sunlight.

The woman's head in the chair hung low and she didn't move. Klaus approached her carefully, lifting her head to take a look at her face. When he saw that her face wasn't grey and covered in popped out veins, Klaus exhaled relieved. Her eyes were open, but lifeless. At least she wasn't dead.

"Jenna, can you hear me?" She didn't react immediately. It took her a moment to focus her eyes. It appeared she only realized now that someone else was in the room with her. Her breathing became labored and she began to trash violently against the restraints that kept her in her place.

"Jenna, it's me." Klaus grabbed her face and made her look at him more clearly. Once she seemed to realize who he was, Jenna stopped trashing and went perfectly still instead. "You're ok, you're safe now."

"I can't do this anymore." Her voice wasn't louder than a whisper, but Klaus had caught it. The look on Jenna's face said it all. She was ready to give it all up. What the hell had they been doing to her?

Anger rose inside of Klaus. He knew that it had all been his fault. He had taunted Marcel, went after him and his so called kingdom. His own selfishness and need to be number one had once again caused nothing but pain and torment for the ones he cared about. Jenna had tried to stop him, never losing faith in him. Why couldn't he just listen to her, to anyone, for once?

And to make it even worse he realized what Jenna was about to do. How many times had he witnessed this before? How many times had he been the cause of it?

„Don't do this, Jenna." Klaus' pleading voice reached Jenna's ears as tears streamed down her face. The last couple of days had been torture, literally. She was just about done with this; she hadn't been made for this. Part of her wanted it to stop hurting, no matter what the cost. The other part of her was in complete agreement.

"It hurts too much, it's too much." Jenna began shaking slightly as more tears fell down her face.

Klaus knelt down to her level and looked into her eyes. "Remember, you made me promise that I would never let you turn your emotions off. You know what it did to Elena. I know it hurts, but the pain is what keeps us human. Do you really want to become an unfeeling monster? That's not you, Jenna."

He knew the easiest way to stop her would be to compel her. Unfortunately, Jenna had been shot up with so much vervain that he would have to drain a good amount of her blood first and that would take too long. He didn't have that kind of time. She didn't have it either.

"I don't care." Jenna's voice broke.

"Jenna, don't!"

In a last desperate attempt he kissed her.


	2. Welcome to New Orleans

**Welcome to New Orleans**

It had been three days since Klaus and Jenna had packed up all their things and left Mystic Falls. Alright, in Jenna's case there wasn't really anything to pack. As a ghost she had learned to change her clothes and appearance at will and hadn't needed anything materialistic to survive. Now that she was alive again it wasn't as simple anymore, especially since she didn't have any belongings left. Even the things that were still left at the Gilbert house after her death, burned to ashes along with everything else after Elena had decided she no longer wanted her home to be a reminder of everything she had lost. The only thing Jenna has now was one bag and it was filled with Rebekah's old clothes that Klaus said wouldn't be missed. Rebekah really had good taste in clothes. It wasn't all Jenna's style, but it would have to do until she could get some new ones.

Then this afternoon they had finally arrived in New Orleans. They would have probably made it sooner, but they had to stop a few times when the hunger became too much for Jenna. She was a hungry one, always hungry for more blood. That's why the provisions they had packed hadn't really lasted very long. Klaus on the other hand, being much older, could go longer without feeding. He made sure to never let her go off by herself and let her accidently kill someone. It made Jenna feel like a child who needed constant supervision, but secretly she was thankful he was looking after her since after she had almost completely drained a guy the week before, she didn't really trust herself enough to stop. She had felt so guilty about the incident.

Jenna shook her head and focused on the present again. Everywhere she looked, there were people. It sure was a busy city. She had been following Klaus around for some time now with him occasionally pointing something out to her and generally playing the part of her own personal guide through the city. She didn't know where they were headed and whenever she asked he would simply tell her to be patient, which was rich coming from the most impatient person Jenna had ever met.

"So, why New Orleans?" Jenna asked, attempting to get at least some kind of information. It's not like he hadn't given her any information at all. Oh no, on the entire drive from Mystic Falls to New Orleans he had been chatting away, just not about anything of importance. Or why they were going to New Orleans or what he was planning to do here, because Jenna was sure there was an agenda.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you decide to leave Mystic Falls and come here? I mean, clearly this is more exciting than a small town, but it seemed you had made that decision from one day to the next."

"I used to live here a while ago. It's like coming home. The French Quarter was our territory and my family helped build it." Klaus smiled at Jenna, but didn't really look into her eyes. She knew he wasn't telling her the entire truth. The thing about Klaus is that he only ever tells you what he wants you to know. Apparently she hadn't earned enough trust to be let in on all the details or maybe he knew that telling her would upset her. He did tend to avoid overly dramatic scenes with her. She wondered why.

"Besides, it wasn't that sudden. You just hadn't noticed because you were too busy trying not to kill anyone. I have to say you used to be a lot more attentive when you were a ghost." Klaus shrugged and smiled.

Jenna snorted, "I was also dead and had nothing better to do."

"You're still dead, love." Jenna rolled her eyes at that, but smiled back.

Eventually both arrived at a large open place, again filled with people, but also street artists, musicians and what Jenna thought were supposed to be fortune tellers. There were quite a number of them and people seemed to be lining up to hear about their future or something like that.

"Why are we here?" Jenna asked while Klaus scanned the crowd looking for something or rather someone specific.

"Her." Klaus indicated to the middle aged black woman sitting at one of the tables filled with crystals, cups and other stuff. She was one of many and Jenna wondered what made her different from the rest of them.

"What, you want to get your fortune told?"

"Not quite." Klaus grabbed Jenna's hand pulled her along through the crowd over to the woman. Maybe it was nothing, but Jenna could swear that the woman looked a little panicked when she noticed them approaching. She even began to start packing her stuff away.

"Good afternoon, time for one more?" Klaus sat down across from the woman and smiled in a way Jenna had come to associate with nothing good. All the more reason to stay close, Jenna thought and positioned herself on Klaus' right side.

"I have nothing to say to you."

Klaus exchanged a look with Jenna who couldn't help but smile at the woman's obvious dislike for the man in front of her, "That's not very nice. You don't even know who I am."

"I know what you are, what you both are." The woman looked up at Jenna accusingly before she turned back to Klaus, "You're the hybrid and I want nothing to do with you."

The witch was still busy packing up her things when Klaus seized her hands and kept them firmly on the table, none too gently.

"I can tell that among all these imposters you're the real deal. You're a witch and I want you to tell me where I can find Jane-Anne Deveraux. Surely you've heard of her."

Jenna fought the urge to roll her eyes. So that's why they were really here. Klaus didn't simply come here because he was homesick, he had an agenda. Not that Jenna wasn't expecting as much.

The witch seemed to be fighting some inner battle with herself. Her eyes were fixed on her hands that were held in place by Klaus.

"See, the thing is I have a terrible temper." Klaus' threatening tone made the witch snap her eyes back up to the hybrid.

"He does." Jenna confirmed. She figured if the witch wasn't talking soon Klaus would step it up, so she decided to intervene instead. She leaned down and placed her hands over Klaus' and slowly, but with quite some effort, made him loosen his grip on the witch, "What he means is that we would be very grateful if you could maybe point us into the right direction. Don't worry we won't tell anybody."

The witch snatched her hands back and eyed Jenna skeptically, but remained silent while Klaus shot Jenna a glare.

"Please?" Jenna tried again and smiled encouragingly at the witch in front of her. After another moment of hesitation the witch leaned in closer and spoke in a hushed voice, "The witches around her don't speak out of turn in the Quarter, because the vampires won't allow it. It's against the rules and I'm not about to go against Marcel."

Jenna wanted to ask who the hell Marcel was, but Klaus cut her off, "_Marcel?_ That's…interesting. Now, I don't suppose you could tell us where we can find Marcel instead?"

**xxxxxxx**

The witch gave the location of Marcel's whereabouts up rather quickly. If only because she had begun to understand that it wasn't in her best interest to make an enemy of the original hybrid. Either way, Jenna and Klaus were now on their way to a bar where Marcel could most likely be found during this time of day.

They had been walking in comfortable silence, or so Jenna thought, when Klaus broke her out of her thoughts, "What was that back there?"

"What do you mean?" Klaus grabbed Jenna's arm to stop her from walking and made her face him. He simply raised an eyebrow at her and waited for an explanation.

Jenna shrugged, "You were scaring the witch and hurting her."

"Yes, dear, that was the point. How else was she going to give me the information I need?" Jenna didn't like this condescending voice Klaus used and glared at him, "I don't know. Maybe you could've tried asking nicely."

Both kept staring at each other. None of them ready to give in first by looking away. Then Klaus began laughing, "Really, is this how it's going to be from now on?"

"Are you regretting bringing me along already?" Jenna asked smiling sweetly up at Klaus, who shook his head lightly and resumed walking, pushing Jenna gently along with him.

"Who's Marcel?"

Klaus grinned, "You're about to find out."

**xxxxxxx**

The place was packed and the music was booming in the small bar the witch had sent Klaus and Jenna to. Half the room was taken up by a stage in the corner. A man was performing for the crowd and they loved him. Who could blame them, it was a rather catchy tune and the person was actually talented. Even Jenna found herself bobbing her head along with the beat while she followed Klaus to the other side of the room.

After another verse the song was over and people cheered. The next person was already taking the talented performer's place and the music started up again. Jenna's eyes had followed the mystery man off the stage and over to the bar.

Klaus noticed where Jenna was looking, "That's Marcel."

As if he had heard them, Marcel turned around and looked surprised for a moment before his face became hard. Three or four men around him noticed and stood a little closer to him. Jenna figured they were the back-up. The music died and everything became perfectly still.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here. Otherwise I would have…" Before the guy could finish his sentence Klaus walked up to him really closely and looked him in the eyes, speaking with a threatening tone, "What would you have done?"

Klaus and Marcel just kept staring at each other, but not in the way Klaus and Jenna had stared at each other earlier. There was nothing playful about this. For a moment she actually thought the situation was going to escalate when suddenly both men started grinning and hugging each other, "I would've thrown you a damn parade."

A quick look around the room told Jenna that she wasn't the only one confused by this.

"Listen up everyone! Welcome my friend, my mentor, Nicklaus Mikaelson." After that it was pretty much free drinks for everyone. All the tension left the room and everything went back to the laid back atmosphere from before. Then Marcel's eyes turned on Jenna who came up behind them.

"Who's your…_friend_ following you around?" Jenna bit her tongue. What was up with that tone Marcel had used? It only takes seconds to decide if one can tolerate the person they meet. Jenna couldn't put her finger on it, but she had instantly decided that she didn't like Marcel. Something about him made her feel uneasy. Maybe it was the way he looked at her or the way he spoke to her.

"This is Jenna." Klaus introduced her before she could open her mouth, probably for the best. Who knows what might have come out of it. Jenna simply nodded politely and smiled.

Marcel grinned and grabbed one of the girls passing by, "Sarah, sweetheart, would you be so kind and show Jenna here to the bar and make sure she gets something to drink." It was not a request, more a very nicely spoken order. Jenna's eyes narrowed slightly. So he wanted her gone, he could've just said as much. Though Jenna didn't see the point in it, it's not like she wouldn't hear every word anyway.

"Interesting company you're keeping." Klaus noticed Marcel's eyes following Jenna across the room to the bar, but he didn't say anything to that and simply smiled politely at his old friend. Marcel must've gotten the hint that Klaus didn't want to talk about his companion, so he led Klaus over to a private table instead.

"I see some of your _friends_ are wearing pretty little daylight rings. How did that happen?" Klaus commented after he had taken a seat.

Marcel held his hands up in surrender, "Yes, I might have shared your secret about daylight rings with a few people; it's just the inner circle, people I trust, family."

"You actually got a witch to do this for you? What did that cost you?"

"Nothing, this is my playground now. I have the witches wrapped around my finger in this town. They do as I say." Klaus laughed at that a little. He wasn't sure if Marcel was embellishing or telling the truth. Then again the witch from earlier today seemed to be genuinely scared of breaking one of Marcel's rules, whatever they are.

Marcel leaned back in his chair and asked his old friend more seriously, "So, what brings you really here?"

"I'm looking for a witch by the name of Jane-Anne Deveraux." That got Marcel's attention. He eyed the hybrid in front of him a little more closely, "What would you want with her?"

"I have some business to discuss with the witch." Klaus thought best to keep it vague. No need to reveal everything at once, he hadn't even told Jenna about it.

Marcel smiled slowly and chuckled, "Perfect timing, my friend. You should probably come with me then."

**xxxxxxx**

"As much as I enjoy this stroll through the night, I wonder if we're ever going to get to where you're taking us." Klaus was getting impatient, Jenna could tell and he was a pain in the ass when he was impatient…or angry or anything besides happy really.

"No worries. Our destination lies right at the end of this street." Marcel promised as all three of them turned one more corner. As they made their way down the street, more and more vampires started to join them. They walked behind them, joined in besides them and even followed from above by jumping from roof to roof. Never before had Jenna seen so many vampires in one place. As a result she made sure not to fall too far behind Klaus and Marcel.

"Not exactly very subtle, are they." Jenna didn't realize that she had spoken out loud until Marcel turn his head around to her, giving her a big smile, "Oh, there's no need to worry about this here. We're in the Quarter, this is our territory."

Jenna gave a small nod in understanding. Of course she didn't actually understand anything at all. What does it mean that this was vampire territory? How had it become this way? Where were all the normal people?

"By the way, how's your family?" Marcel and Klaus kept up the chit chat, but Jenna wasn't paying too much attention to their conversation. She didn't really like being ganged up like this. She knew she wasn't in any kind of danger and she also knew none of them were here to attack her, but still something didn't feel right. They were a little too happy and excited for it to be mere coincidence. They were joining up for something specific and as they all neared the end of street Jenna was sure she would not like whatever was going to happen next.

And the universe did not want to disappoint her.

Marcel lifted two fingers to his mouth and whistled; a clear sign to anyone to pay attention to their leader. They gathered around in a wide circle and only left one small opening through which another vampire came with a struggling woman in tow. The first thing Jenna noticed was that the woman's hands had been bound together. Was she a prisoner?

Marcel's loud voice boomed over the chatter of his people, "Let's welcome our guest of honor. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you Jane-Anne Deveraux."

Klaus raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Jenna. This was the witch they had been looking for all day. Vampires all around cheered, whistled and clapped which only made Jenna's uneasiness grow. Marcel sure was a showman judging from the way he presented himself to his people. He liked it dramatic, Jenna thought.

"Jane-Anne has joined us here tonight, because she's been accused of unlawful use of witchcraft."

Magic was unlawful? Whose law? Jenna was completely confused by this. Who controlled witches this way? Did they have something like a witchy police?

Marcel was still busy making a show out of whatever was going on here and asked the witch, "How do you plead?"

Jane-Anne kept her head held high and if she was scared, she hid it well, "I didn't do anything."

The crowd made their disbelieve and disapproval acoustically known which only made Marcel smile devilishly as he invaded the witch's personal space, "Now, we both know that's a lie."

At this point the brave look on the witches face cracked somewhat and Jenna began to see fear creeping into her eyes, as did Marcel.

"You hate that I know when you witches do magic in this town. I control the Quarter and everyone here follows my rules or suffers the consequences. The rules clearly forbid any use of witchcraft and you very well know that."

Jenna took a look around. Again the crowd agreed with their leader by cheering him on. So that's what's going on her. Marcel was controlling the Quarter and apparently was the law around her. Jenna wondered if Klaus had known about this. She found it odd that he simply stood beside her without moving or speaking. He only watched intently as the scene before him unfolded. So much unlike him, she thought.

"You have broken the law, Jane-Anne Deveraux, and tonight you receive your punishment. However, before we get to that, I give you one more chance to change your fate by telling me what spell you did exactly. Tell us, what was so important that you risked using magic against my strict orders not to?"

Marcel looked at the witch expectantly. In a way it reminded Jenna of Klaus. The expectation of absolute obedience, which radiated off of both of them, was best not ignored. Disappointing such expectations could really only end one way. Jenna wondered if maybe that was something Marcel had indeed learned from the hybrid. After all they seemed to have quite the history, even though Jenna did not yet know what exactly linked the two men together.

It was just for one single moment that Jane-Anne's eyes shifted to the right. She took a quick glance at Klaus. Her eyes didn't linger, but Jenna thought it might have been a sign, but it was over too quickly to really tell. Had Klaus noticed this, too? It was impossible to tell since his face was like stone and gave nothing away.

Jane-Anne was not about to go out as a coward and turned back to Marcel's piercing gaze. She took a deep breath and in a calm voice spoke her last words, "Rot in hell, monster!"

Marcel's face hardened. If looks could kill, Jenna thought. Yes, this was definitely a Klaus expression. Someone should do something before this situation got out of hand. No one moved, though. Jenna figured that no one really dared to, including her, but what about Klaus. Why wasn't he doing something? This was the person they had been looking for. Jenna really wanted to nudge him or kick him in the leg, but she felt like one wrong move might make her the center of attention and she really didn't want that.

Marcel closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath in. By the time he had turned away from the witch he had a smile on his face again, "I'm going to give you one more chance."

Jenna had almost been relieved to hear those words when Marcel lashed out at Jane-Anne without warning, slitting her throat with his nails. The surprised look on Jane-Ann's face as she tried unsuccessfully to breathe in burned itself into Jenna's mind and she watched the witch sink to ground with her hands still bound. As soon as Jane-Anne's body hit the floor the crowd went wild and erupted into loud cheers. The only ones remaining still were Klaus and Jenna.

Marcel laughed, "Or maybe not."

Jenna turned her head to the side quickly. Somehow she had known this whole situation was headed this way, but she was still surprised by it. And if the look on Klaus's face was any indication he was not prepared for it either. So much for talking to Jane-Anne and finding out what's going on here.

It wasn't alone the death of the witch that had made her turn away, though. Jenna could smell the blood pouring from the witches slashed throat and it made her more than a little uncomfortable. Even though she wasn't hungry, it still got to her. Apparently it took time get the cravings under control and Jenna had not been a vampire for very long. It still had only been a little over a week since she had returned from the dead. Since then it had been a constant struggle.

Klaus, sensing Jenna's distress, stepped in front of her and shielded her with his body as Marcel calmed his followers down again. It wouldn't make the smell go away, but it was still a nice gesture.

"Alright, we're done here. Let's go. There is a party waiting for us." One by one the vampires left the scene. Who was left in the end were Klaus, Jenna and the lifeless body of Jean-Anne Deveraux.

**xxxxxxx**

A little further away in the darkness of an alley, stood another spectator who had watched the murder of Jane-Anne Deveraux. To his right stood the witch who had led him here so he could see for himself what the punishment for unauthorized use of magic was.

"You see, this is why we need your brother. We figure that maybe he could end Marcel's reign of terror." The witch went on and on to explain why they drew his brother back to New Orleans, but Elijah was no longer listening to her. Watching the witch's death was not what he had expected to find happening here tonight; then again he also hadn't expected to find another familiar face among the crowd, other than his brother's.

Behind Klaus stood a very familiar woman and she had still turned her head away from the gruesome scene. Maybe she felt him staring at her, maybe it was coincidence, but when she looked up she caught his gaze and froze. Elijah had absolutely no idea how it was even possible, but the woman his brother had sacrificed in a ritual to break his curse was looking right at him.

Elijah had only held Jenna's eyes long enough to make sure it was really her and then he was gone. He couldn't wait to hear this story.

**xxxxxxx**

Jenna could've sworn she had seen someone familiar standing with the woman a little further away, but when she blinked he was gone and she was no longer sure she had seen anything. Maybe the shadows had played a trick on her eyes.

Movement behind her made her snap out of her thoughts and focus on her current situation. Klaus had awakened from his stone like posture and was moving again. He walked away with determination in his step and Jenna didn't know what do. She took a step into the direction Klaus was walking, but then turned back again to the dead body on the ground, careful not to look to closely at the wound that still had blood dripping from it. As a precaution Jenna decided now was a good time to just stop breathing altogether. Better not to be caught snacking on a corpse.

Should she follow Klaus and make sure he wouldn't do something stupid, but what about the body? She couldn't just leave Jane-Anne lying here like this on the street. It didn't seem right.

"It's ok, go." The woman from earlier suddenly appeared behind Jenna, the one she thought had stood beside a certain Original, "I'll take care of her. The others will be here soon."

Jenna was almost positive this woman was another witch. This place appeared to be crawling with them, as well as vampires. She wondered what else she might find here in the shadows of the night, of course she was not particularly interested in finding out.

Jenna nodded and bolded from the scene and as soon as she was far enough away from the body she released the breath she had been holding for the past minute or so. She was proud of how she had handled herself, but was otherwise at a loss, because she had lost track of Klaus.

"Welcome to New Orleans." Jenna muttered to herself and started walking again.

* * *

**A/N: For now this story more or less follows the plot of The Originals (except for the whole baby-deal). I haven't seen all the episodes yet, but I guess eventually that'll change, unless it somehow works with Jenna.**


	3. The King of the Quarter

**The King of the Quarter**

„Pick up, pick up…" Jenna had tried calling Klaus four times, but he was not picking up. He was ignoring her and Jenna didn't like it. She wanted to smash her phone, but thought better of it. Getting stranded in a city where she knew no one was not exactly Jenna's idea of a fun night out. He could've at least told her where they would be staying.

Her first thought had been to return to the bar where they had found Marcel earlier, but when she arrived none of the vampires she saw earlier were there. No Klaus and no Marcel. Jenna was sure that the people in the bar now were all human, drunk but human. The bar tender was no help either. He just gave her an odd, slightly panicked look when she had asked him about where she could find Marcel. Apparently he was more scared of what would happen if he talked than what Jenna might do to him if he didn't. Luckily for him Jenna wasn't in a threatening mood…yet. But after walking the streets for a while without much success that was something that began to change quickly.

It wasn't that late, but the streets were unusually empty for a city this size. Still Jenna figured if she made enough noise, and she meant in a supernatural kind of way, someone was bound to notice her and eventually someone would probably point her into the right direction. Or it might get her killed. Either way something would happen.

This plan became more and more appealing to Jenna when soft crying reached her ears. She stopped, but didn't find the source of the crying at first. Only when she walked a little further ahead, Jenna noticed a woman sitting on the sidewalk further down the road with her head resting on her knees and her arms folded around her legs. As a human Jenna would've never heard the woman from this distance, but as a vampire she had no problem.

Jenna slowly approached the slightly shaking woman and bend down a little when she reached her, "Are you alright?"

The woman looked up with red and puffy eyes and tried to wipe the tears from her face. It didn't help much, because a fresh set of tears were already forming in her eyes and threatening to spill over. She didn't say anything, so Jenna decided to sit down beside her.

"You're a vampire." Jenna was momentarily stunned by the statement. Not the first time she was made as a vampire with a single look today. Did something about her simply scream vampire? Jenna thought not, "You're a witch."

Both women held each other's gazes, "Did you enjoy the show?"

Jenna didn't immediately understand what the woman beside her referred to. Her eyebrows drew together in a questioning look, but the witch still held her gaze accusingly. Something about it seemed familiar. Then it clicked. The woman in front of her reminded Jenna of Jane-Anne and she began to see the resemblance. Not just because they had the same dark hair and the same eyes, but the witch in front of her looked Jenna just as unafraid into her eyes as Jane-Anne had done with Marcel.

"It was…" Jenna struggled to find the right words, "…too dramatic for my taste."

The witch dropped her eyes and remained silent, so Jenna decided to find out if she was mistaken about the resemblance she thought the woman had with Jane-Anne, "Did you know Jane-Anne?"

"She is…was my sister. We need to properly put her to rest, so her spirit can move on, but I just can't bring myself to go." Jenna couldn't blame her. Walking up to Miranda's grave on the day of the funeral was one of the hardest things Jenna ever had to do. She just wanted to hug the witch and tell her that she understood what she was going through, but that would be weird, so instead Jenna introduced herself, "I'm Jenna, by the way."

"Sophie." The witch nodded and eyed Jenna a little closer, "I haven't seen you around here before."

"That's because I'm not from around here. I came here with a friend and we were actually looking for…your sister." Jenna answered.

"Why?" Sophie became instantly suspicious, but then she seemed to realize something, "You're the one who arrived with Klaus, the hybrid, right?"

Now it was time for Jenna to be suspicious, "Why would you know that?"

Sophie shrugged, "Word travels fast around here. Marcel has his eyes and ears everywhere, but so do we."

"And who's we?" Jenna asked.

"The witches of New Orleans. This place is very rich with history, especially supernatural history. There are a lot of us here." Sophie explained.

Another minute passed in silence while both women just sat on the sidewalk; one mourning her sister's death, the other sensing an opportunity to get some answers.

"What did your sister want with Klaus? Why would she risk using magic bringing him here?" Jenna remembered how Jane-Anne had looked over to Klaus when asked what was so important that she had used magic, "I guess that's what she used magic for, right?"

"What do you think? You've seen what Marcel did tonight. He's killed so many of us already and we can't do anything against him, because he knows when we use magic and then he punishes us."

"How does he know that?" If Jenna hadn't already decided that she didn't like Marcel, now she would have.

Sophie sighed, "That's the problem, we don't know. We also don't know how to figure it out without using magic. We need someone who's capable of standing up to Marcel."

"And you think Klaus can help you with that?" What she really meant to ask was if they really thought that he would want to. Again, Jenna just didn't see him as someone who would help people out of the goodness of his heart. There had to be more to this.

"He knows Marcel and he's the hybrid. If he can't stop him, then no one can." Unlikely, Jenna thought, but kept it to herself.

"Can you tell me where I could find Marcel now?"

Fresh tears made their way down Sophie's face, "Why would you want to?"

"Well, after Marcel killed…I mean…Klaus wasn't too happy with Marcel's earlier demonstration of power and he went after him. I'm afraid I got a bit lost along the way." Jenna laughed a little embarrassed.

„They're at the compound. That's what they call it. They're probably busy draining people and celebrating my sister's death." Sophie wiped away more tears from her face and looked to the floor after giving Jenna the directions she needed. Jenna felt really bad for Sophie. She knew what it meant to lose a sister and it was not easy. She wanted to comfort her, but there was really nothing she could do for a semi-stranger on a street in the middle of the night. Instead she got up off the sidewalk.

"I'm really sorry about your sister." Jenna didn't wait for Sophie to react and left.

**xxxxxxx**

The directions Sophie had given Jenna led her to a location she hadn't been to before. She also would have never found it on her own. Quite the coincidence, Jenna thought, watch one sister get killed and then find the other one sitting on the street all alone, crying. Jenna wasn't sure if that was something that should bother her. She was still sort of new to all of this, so maybe that's just how irony works in the supernatural world. She also had other things to focus on. Like the loud music coming from the entrance to what Sophie had called the compound.

Ok, maybe entrance was the wrong word for it. It was really only a small opening, like a narrow alley that Jenna would never have noticed unless she knew what to look for or in this case without the music coming from whatever lay at the end of the short passage.

As she made her way through, Jenna figured that this was no coincidence. There was definitely a party going on here and it had a bite to it, literally. A handful of vampires occupied the alley along the way, each one of them draining the life out of another victim. Not that any of the humans were actually fighting them or struggling to get away. One woman even looked particularly pleased as the man standing behind her kept on drinking her blood. It seemed like she was on the high of her life, but Jenna was sure the woman would never come back down from it or wake up in the morning for that matter. Jenna began to feel the familiar tucking in her stomach, a clear sign that the sight before her made her hungry. She tried to walk a little faster. None of the vampires paid any attention to Jenna. They simply shifted slightly out of the way for her to pass. About halfway Jenna found herself stopping when a young girl crashed into her. Jenna had instinctively caught her by the arms and helped her steady herself. Neither one of them had seen the other one coming.

Before Jenna could even ask if the woman was alright, she unconsciously held on a little tighter. Her eyes immediately locked onto the wound on the young girl's neck. The smell of blood invaded her senses even more than it already did with all the blood draining that was going on around her. It wasn't that long ago that Jenna had fed, but suddenly she was all too aware of how hungry she was. Just a little bite wouldn't hurt, right?

The girl wasn't really aware of what was happening around her and only remained on her feet because the woman in front of her held her up. Jenna was entirely focused on the blood smeared neck. The slow beating of the girl's heart reached Jenna's ears and together with the rhythmic sound of the music made her imagine all the delicious blood pumping through the girl's veins. Jenna knew she was losing control, but to be honest she really didn't care. She could do it, couldn't she? Just one quick bite, just a little taste. Jenna didn't need Klaus to stop her every time she fed on a human. It was ridiculous; she was no monster, just hungry.

While Jenna was trying to hold herself back, the girl regained some of her strength and started to stand up by herself again, but still held on to Jenna when she asked, "What happened?"

Jenna looked at the girl conflicted, but also knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Without meaning to, Jenna's fangs popped out and the veins under her eyes became visible and turned them slightly red. "Don't worry, it won't hurt much."

With one swift movement Jenna sank her teeth into the girl's neck who shrieked a little in surprise. The moment the first drop of blood had reached Jenna's mouth she knew she wouldn't be able to stop. It had been too long, she should've fed earlier. The whole Jane-Anne thing hadn't helped either. It had been easier to not lose control then, because Jane-Anne was dead and Jenna drew the line at drinking from corpses.

The girl started to struggle against Jenna, but it didn't help much since Jenna was not only a lot stronger than her, but the girl also became weaker by the second. In the back of her mind Jenna knew that she was killing the girl, but the sensation of blood running down her throat was stronger than anything else. She closed her eyes and held the girl closer to her. The need to drink blood overpowered everything and in that moment Jenna couldn't bring herself to care about anything else.

"Marcel!" A loud and angry scream sounded through the place and even over the music which instantly seemed to die down, "I know you're here!"

Jenna's eyes flew open at Klaus' angry words. It felt like her brain returned to reality and she finally understood what she was _really _doing. Jenna immediately let go of the girl, turned away from her and felt the much needed control return to her. She took a couple of deep breaths before she turned back to the girl who leaned against the wall, clutching her neck and breathing heavily.

"You're going to be fine. Go home, never come back here." Jenna ordered as she looked the girl into her eyes. The girl straitened up and turned to leave. Jenna didn't look after her. All she could think about now was to get the blood off of her face. She used her sleeves to wipe her mouth and still took deep breaths to calm herself. She felt like she might start to hyperventilate, but she pulled herself together. It was ok. She had stopped and she hadn't killed the girl, even though she had wanted to.

All of the people that occupied the alley before were gone and Jenna realized how quiet it had become. She could still hear Klaus' voice, as well as another. Jenna approached the end of the alley and could now see where it lead. A small decorated courtyard filled with vampires. There were stairs on either side leading up to higher levels. Probably where they all lived, Jenna figured.

She tried to get closer to get a better look at what was going on. In the middle of it all stood Klaus with his hand wrapped around the throat of a vampire. Jenna recognized him as the one who had held on to Jane-Anne earlier. A small circle had formed around them and everyone seemed to be waiting for his next move. That's when someone else joined them by jumping down from the first floor.

"Hey, hey, there's no need for that. We're all friends here." Marcel's voice was calm and he added a little laugh as he got Klaus to loosen his grip on the vampire. When he spoke again there was a little more edge in his voice, "No one hurts my guys, those are the rules."

"I don't care about your rules. You knew I was looking for the witch and then you went and killed her." By the tone of Klaus' voice Jenna could tell that he was not in a mood to be told what to do. Not that he ever was.

Marcel held his hands up in surrender and shrugged, "I got a little carried away. I'm sorry, ok? I get it, I showed my power and you just showed yours. Let's move on and forget about it."

Marcel was about to turn away and let the matter drop, but Klaus had other plans, "How do you do it, anyway? How do you control the witches? In my time you better had not angered them, because they had the power to make you suffer horribly if they wanted to. How did that change?"

Marcel smiled, but shook his head, "You know, you are my friend, but I'm afraid I can't tell you that. It's my business and I control the witches in my town. The how is not important. All that matters is that things are run my way now. In my town the witches are powerless, the werewolves are either gone or hide like little, scared puppies, the locals look the other way and the blood never stops flowing thanks to a booming tourist industry."

Arrogant jerk, Jenna thought. That guy really wasn't scoring any points with her.

Klaus out right laughed at that, "Your town? That's funny, because when I left a hundred years ago you were nothing but a pathetic, little vampire who was still nursing his wounds that the ones who kept you down had inflicted on you."

The mood shifted and a couple of vampires stepped a little closer to Marcel. "Are you jealous, is that it? I mean, sure three hundred years ago it was you who helped build this town into something bigger and better, but it was also you who a hundred years ago left. Actually, if I remember correctly, you ran away and left it all behind."

Jenna made a mental note to ask Klaus about why he left this place and how exactly he knew Marcel from back then, but she would wait until he was in a less murderous mood.

While Klaus glared at Marcel spread his arms wide and announced in a loud voice, "If you want to stay, that's great. What's mine is yours, but it is mine. This is my home, my family and my rules."

Klaus stepped closer to Marcel and kept his voice low, "And what would happen if someone breaks your rules?" It must've been a rhetorical question, really. Klaus already knew what the answer to that was. He had witnessed the consequences earlier this evening. Jenna closed her eyes briefly. This was headed in a bad direction.

Marcel also took another step towards Klaus and without missing a beat Marcel answered, "They die!"

Oh no, Jenna thought, this was not good. Clearly something bad was about to happen, but neither of the men backed down. Should this end in a confrontation then Jenna wasn't sure how it would play out. Klaus could take Marcel, that much was clear, but what about all the others? What would they do then?

"Look at you, the little prince high up on his thrown." Klaus spat, but Marcel was having none of it, "I rule this town now. I'm no prince, I am the king. Show me some respect!"

Jenna may have not known Klaus forever, but even she knew that was the wrong thing to demand from him, especially with everyone watching. She felt like covering her eyes with her hands. This was like a train wreck waiting to happen. How could no one see that? What worried Jenna the most, however, was that Klaus didn't say anything anymore. He simply took a look around the courtyard and almost appeared calm. He wasn't, of course.

Without warning Klaus grabbed the vampire standing behind him and sunk his teeth into his neck. Everyone was shocked at the action. Some gasped, but no one moved. Even Jenna couldn't keep the grimace off her face. It looked rather brutal. It also didn't help that it all happened practically right in front of her.

Once Klaus was done, the vampire crumpled to the floor. The hybrid slowly straightened and looked up, catching Jenna's eyes. If he was surprised to see her standing there, he didn't let it show. Instead he smiled at her and licked some of the blood from the corner of his mouth with his tongue.

He spread his arms wide and turned back to Marcel, "I'm a hybrid, which means werewolf poison. Your friend will be dead in a couple of days and that means I've broken one of your rules, but I can't be killed. After all, I am immortal."

Now it was Marcel's turn to be quiet. It looked like he wanted to say something, but he held back. He also didn't move. He probably knew better than to make the situation worse.

"Who has the power now?" Klaus asked mockingly before he smiled and took one more look around the courtyard. Then he turned around again and headed for the exit. As he passed Jenna, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back out on to the streets with him with everyone else staring after them.

**xxxxxxx**

They walked fast and didn't stop for quite a while. None of them had said anything and Jenna didn't dare break the silence first. She could tell Klaus was still angry and the last thing she wanted was for that anger to be let out on her.

After a little while longer they reached an empty bench and Klaus sat down, letting go of Jenna for the first time since they had left the courtyard. It had to be close to midnight now and they were all alone out here. Jenna slowly followed his lead and sat down beside him, waiting. She could practically hear the wheels turning in his head. Silence was a common occurrence with the two of them, but it was rarely uncomfortable.

Eventually it was Klaus who broke the silence, "I really liked it here, you know. It was the one place I could really call my home. I hated leaving here."

"Why did you?" Jenna asked softly.

Klaus didn't answer Jenna immediately. She almost thought she wouldn't get an answer at all when suddenly Klaus turned towards her, facing her. He raised both his arms and cradled her head between his hands, "Why don't I just show you?"

While Klaus started to explain his life story, Jenna closed her eyes. Images of what he told her started to flash through her mind. She saw him and his family living in the woods a thousand years ago. He saw how happy he was with his family there, especially with Elijah and Rebekah who was just as beautiful then as she was now.

Jenna was surprised to learn of another brother, Henrik. He had died after a werewolf had attacked him. This was the reason why their father had made their mother, Esther, turn him and his children into vampires. He wanted to be able to protect them from the wolves. However, after Klaus had killed for the first time, his true nature came to light and his mother's terrible secret had been revealed. She had had an affair with one of the werewolves of the tribe and never told anyone about it.

Klaus's father, Mikael, was infuriated by the betrayal and forced Esther to put a curse on Klaus in order to suppress his werewolf side. Afterwards Klaus killed his mother for what she did to him which in return made his father hunt him to get revenge. No matter where Klaus would go, eventually his father would find him. Even here in New Orleans, where Klaus seemed more than happy to build himself and his siblings a home, Mikael had found them. For a thousand years Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah ran from their father until Klaus finally killed him last year back in Mystic Falls.

Klaus let go of Jenna's head and mind and leaned back. Jenna slowly opened her eyes again.

"What was that?" Jenna whispered, stunned.

Klaus smiled at her, "Something you learn once you've lived as long as I have."

Jenna was astonished. Klaus had never been this open with her. For the first time he really shared something personal from his past with her and she couldn't help but smile a little at that. But to think that he was hunted by his own father for something that wasn't even his fault, it made Jenna angry and not at all sorry that his father was now dead, killed by the hands of his own son.

"So now I get why you left, but what was earlier about?" Klaus' smile dropped and his face became hard again.

"This town was my home and now Marcel has everything I ever wanted: power, loyalty and a family. I made him what he is today and he has bettered me." Jenna almost wanted to point out that Klaus had a family, but she thought better of it and decided not to interrupt him. "I want what he has and I will have it. I want to be king."

Yes, that was the Klaus she knew, Jenna thought. Somehow she was sure there was a lot more between Klaus and Marcel than she knew about, but she was also sure she wouldn't get anymore answers tonight.

Jenna crossed her arms in front of her, "Thanks for not leaving me behind this time, by the way."

Klaus gave Jenna an apologetic look. It looked rather pathetic on him, but just like that the tension was gone and both smiled again.

"Alright, Mr. Hybrid, take me home."


	4. Drastic Measures

**Drastic Measures**

Jenna sat on the sofa in the living room of what would be her new home from now on. It was not in the city as she had expected. After last night's little power play between Klaus and Marcel, she had found herself on a plantation. It was nice here, Jenna thought, a really big house outside of town with nothing around them for a few miles. Kind of like the mansion back in Mystic Falls. Jenna began to think that's how the Originals liked it. It was a little dusty inside and most of the furniture was still covered with white sheets. Clearly no one had lived here in a while. Still, judging from the state of the house, it had not been completely abandoned.

Across from Jenna in an armchair sat Elijah. He studied the young vampire in front of him intently. He didn't say anything, just looked at her with his fingers interlaced and resting under his chin. Jenna grew more and more uncomfortable under his gaze. She had briefly met him last night when Klaus and she had finally arrived at the house. They had almost literally walked into him. He had raised his eyebrows, but Klaus had just shrugged and announced that it was too late and all the explanations could wait until after they all had a good night's sleep.

Good night's sleep, my foot! Jenna had barely slept. She had had a couple of disturbing dreams about the girl she had almost killed last night. Whenever she closed her eyes she could see the girl's scared face and the blood trickling from her neck. The worst by far, however, was Jenna's own face. It held nothing human anymore; she had been uncontrolled and hadn't cared about anything other than blood. It wasn't easy to explain, but whenever she drank blood the rational side of her seemed to take a timeout. The blood consumed everything. Jenna didn't want to be walking around seeing everyone as a walking blood bag. She did not want to be a monster.

"So, that really was you last night. I thought I might've seen you." Jenna couldn't stand it any longer. She had to break the silence. Also, she had to break herself out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I was there. I wasn't expecting to be witnessing a murder. I also hadn't expected to find you there…with my brother." Before Jenna could even begin to form a response, Elijah pointed out, "You were dead."

"I was…still am dead….sort of. I'm a vampire now. It's a long story." Jenna sighed and looked back down on her hands. She felt like a naughty child who was about to receive a lecture from her father. But it never came. Elijah had opened his mouth several times, but closed it again without saying anything. Jenna figured he must be very confused about this whole situation. He knew that his brother had killed her and yet here she was, alive and running around with Klaus, the man who had killed her twice.

"I only arrived here yesterday and before that I was in Mystic Falls. No one mentioned you, so I guess your family does not know of your return?" Elijah asked.

"You're right, they don't know. No one besides Klaus and now you know about it. It's just that they had a lot going and really…it's…well it's complicated." Jenna fell silent again. Suddenly her fingernails became the most interesting thing in the world. She wasn't quite sure what to say. For so long she had wanted nothing more than to return to her family and when it was finally happening she had chickened out. She felt guilty about it, but it just wasn't time yet.

Eventually Elijah sighed and held his hands out to either side, "Alright, let's just hear it."

Jenna took a deep breath and started to explain from the beginning.

**xxxxxxx**

It took quite some time to get Elijah up to speed. He was a patient listener and barely interrupted Jenna. Only asking questions when he wanted to know more about certain things she mentioned. His mother's death, for example, was one of those things.

Jenna had just finished her story when Klaus entered the room, "Brother, so good to see you." Klaus sounded cheerfully and looked from his brother to Jenna and back again, "I take it you two are all caught up now. Fantastic!"

Elijah straightened his tie and looked up at his brother, "You're here for a day and you're already causing trouble. That must be a new record." Jenna noticed how Elijah's voice had changed. He wasn't talking in the same tone anymore. He sounded more commanding. Jenna bit her lip to keep from laughing. This must be his big brother voice.

"I see you two talked about more than just why Jenna has joined us here in New Orleans." Klaus said.

"Yes, I have been informed about last night." Elijah clearly disapproved.

Klaus shot Jenna a glare, but she just shrugged. She hadn't left out much when she told Elijah about what's going on. She started with the night she had died right up to them sitting in the living room together. Jenna had surprised herself with that, although she had stuck strictly to the facts. She figured that sometimes it was simply easier telling a stranger than someone you actually know. It felt good getting it all out, even though she hadn't told him about the emotional rollercoaster she had been on for the past year. That still seemed too personal to share. She might have also left out her little blood problem and how she had almost killed someone unintentionally twice.

"What do you intent to do about that?" Elijah asked his brother.

Klaus shrugged, "Marcel won't be a problem and I still intent to find my answers."

"How? Jane-Anne Deveraux is dead. She was the one who send for you, wasn't she?" Elijah wasn't too sure about Marcel not being a problem. What Klaus did was impulsive and foolish. It was a Klaus thing to do.

"I will find a way, don't worry brother. There are many more of those witches and I'm sure they know something." Klaus didn't appear to be worried too much about it, but Jenna could tell it was really bugging him that Jane-Anne was dead and he was left without answers.

That's also when Jenna realized that there was something she knew, but hadn't mentioned so far. Even in her retelling of past night, Jenna had forgotten to mention one little fact. She had been so focused on telling Elijah about what happened between Marcel and Klaus that she had totally forgotten to mention how she had found her way to the compound in the first place.

"We could go and ask Jane-Anne's sister." Both brothers' heads shot towards Jenna.

"What sister?" Both of them asked her at the same time.

**xxxxxxx**

"How come you haven't mentioned Sophie Deveraux before?" Klaus demanded to know, but Jenna knew he wasn't really angry. They were walking down a busy street and Jenna was focusing on where she was going. Last night everything was deserted, it was harder for her now to remember where she had found Sophie with so many people around.

Jenna rolled her eyes, "And when exactly should that have happened? After you left me behind or before you bit that vampire?"

Elijah kept a little distance to his brother and Jenna and trailed behind them. He couldn't help but smile at their bickering. He tried to remember when he saw his brother like this the last time. There had been Caroline Forbes, of course, but Elijah dismissed the thought as soon as it came. Caroline had never given Klaus the time of day unless she needed something from him. This was different. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on between the Jenna and his brother, but they clearly didn't realize how they appeared to others. Walking side by side, bickering and touching from time to time. Elijah shook his head smiling and kept following them.

"What was with the blood last night then? Did you hurt yourself?" Klaus didn't mean for it to sound like he was worried, but he only managed it partly.

"What blood?" Jenna was confused by the question but instinctively checked her sleeves. They were clean. Of course they were because she wore fresh clothes today. And then for a moment Jenna had a horrible thought. Had he seen her lose control last night? How she had almost killed the girl? Was this his way of asking about it without calling her directly out on it?

"The blood that was smeared on your sleeve last night." Klaus clarified. He had noticed it the night before when they had sat on the bench, but he was too caught up in his own angry thoughts to remember to ask her about it.

"That was nothing." Jenna kept her eyes trained straight ahead and was saved from explaining further when she found the spot where she had met Sophie last night, "We're here."

Klaus studied Jenna for a moment longer, but let the matter drop. Elijah stepped forward and took a look around, "This is where you found her?"

Jenna nodded, "Yes, she sat on the sidewalk and cried. I didn't really think about it too much last night, but earlier I remembered the sign behind us. This bar or restaurant, whatever it is, I think she must have come from here."

"Let's find out." Klaus was the first one to walk through the doors. Not many people occupied the tables. The bar tender leaned against the counter, chatting up a pretty woman. No one paid them any attention. They walked in further, looking around for Sophie. The doors to the kitchen were open and Jenna recognized the woman chopping vegetables.

"Over there." Jenna led them over to the kitchen entrance, "Sophie?"

Instantly the chopping stopped and Sophie stiffened, "What are you doing here?"

"Exactly my question." Klaus said and stepped closer to the witch. Sophie turned around. Her eyes were still red from crying. She looked at the three before her, but didn't say anything. Instead Klaus continued, "Let's just get straight to it. Why did your sister want me here? What was she planning?"

Jenna elbowed Klaus and shook her head at him. This was hardly the way to talk to a grieving person.

Elijah stepped forward, "What my brother means is that we are sorry about your sister and we would like to ask you a few questions."

Jenna gave Klaus a look that said_ that's how you do it_. Klaus rolled his eyes at her.

Sophie nodded, but looked uneasy, "It's too dangerous talking here. When I get caught talking to you, I'm dead."

Elijah kept his calm as usual, "Then where would you have us meet instead?"

Before Sophie could answer she paled and two vampires entered the kitchen, closing the doors behind them, "Oh, but I think here is just fine."

Jenna recognized them from last night. Both of them had been at the party and from the glare they send Klaus' way they were ready to take his head off. They were smarter than to attack him, though.

"Diego was it, right?" Klaus smiled but there was nothing friendly about it, "Spying for Marcel I presume?"

Diego threw his dirtiest look at Klaus, who ignored the vampire with the afro and went on, "As you can see we are in the middle of something here."

"I guess asking nicely won't work." Diego snapped his fingers and the doors opened again. More vampires stepped inside, except it weren't only vampires entering the kitchen. The few people who had sat at the tables entered as well. The pretty girl from the bar walked straight over to Sophie and that's when Jenna realized that they must be witches. Suddenly Jenna found herself standing between two fronts, Marcel's vampires and the witches.

"Can't you just leave us alone to grieve the loss of our sister?" The pretty girl said and put an arm around Sophie.

Diego spread his arms, "We could, but there is still that little matter of what Jane-Anne was doing. Marcel would like to know. Not to mention, you have not one, but two Originals here with you. Are you conspiring with them?"

"You can tell Marcel to go to hell." Sophie spat at Diego who didn't take that very well. He stepped forward but Jenna put herself in front of Sophie. Immediately afterwards Klaus got between Diego and Jenna before he could reach her, a move that didn't go unnoticed on either front.

Klaus got up into Diego's face, "I don't think you want to do that."

Diego, however, had a different idea. He signaled to the group of vampires and they all attacked. None of them came even close to Jenna or the witches. Klaus and Elijah had little to no problem stopping the young vampires. They didn't actually kill them, though. They snapped their necks or threw them against the wall with so much force that they lost consciousness.

"Time to go." Jenna turned to Sophie, "Is there another way out?"

Sophie nodded and led Jenna and the other witches out the back door. Inside only Diego remained upright with a little help from Klaus who had a tight grip on his neck. He was debating if he shouldn't send Marcel another little surprise.

"I think we made ourselves clear enough, Niklaus." Elijah stood calmly by and adjusted his tie, "Let him go."

"My brother, always ruining my fun." Klaus tightened his grip a little, "You try that again and you die, no matter _what_ Marcel's rules say." He let go of Diego and pushed him away.

Elijah scanned the kitchen. It was a mess and unconscious vampires lay on the floor, but other than that they were alone, "Where did Jenna go?"

**xxxxxxx**

The back door had led them all out into a back alley. They walked all the way to the end before they stopped and looked back. Jenna tried to listen to what might be going on. There was one more crash, then nothing. She wasn't too worried about that. No way would they be able to take Klaus and Elijah together.

"You should probably go somewhere where it's saver." Jenna suggested after she had turned back to Sophie.

"You're right, but you're coming with us." Sophie announced and the witches started to form a circle around Jenna. Were they trying to trap her? Jenna turned around slowly. It was definitely a stupid thing to let Sophie out of her sight. Because when she had her back to Sophie, Jenna felt a sharp pain on her back. At first she thought Sophie had stabbed her, but instead Jenna began to feel woozy and she felt her knees give out. Someone had caught her and she was dimly aware of being carried away. After that everything went dark.

**xxxxxxx**

Jenna's whole body felt paralyzed. Whatever those witches had done to her, it made it really hard to regain control over her body. Jenna opened her eyes slowly and let them adjust to her surroundings. She heard voices around her. On her right she noticed Sophie standing a couple of feet away. One of the other witches stepped closer to her. She kept her voice low, but Jenna could still hear her, "Are you really sure about this? What if it doesn't work? What if he doesn't care?"

"He will." Sophie sounded confident, "And even if he doesn't, there's still Elijah. He seems to be the more sensible of the two. He'll want to save her."

Jenna's head pounded. What were they talking about and why had they taken her? Where had they taken her? Jenna moved her head slowly from side to side and then tried to sit up. She felt some of her strength returning, but it wasn't enough. In the end she only managed to prop herself up on her elbows. She didn't know exactly where she was, but from the inside it looked like a tomb. She had seen enough of those to know that much. Why do these things always end in a cemetery, Jenna wondered.

"What is going on?" Jenna asked, her voice sounding a lot stronger than she felt.

"How nice of you to join us." One of the witches in the room smiled at Jenna in a way that made Jenna uncomfortable. Clearly they planned on doing something with magic here. The only thing Jenna could think of to say was, "Marcel will kill you for this."

Sophie grinned, "He might, but I'm sure Klaus wouldn't want that to happen."

Jenna looked at Sophie questioningly. She didn't understand anything, "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry. It will become clear soon enough." Sophie stepped closer to Jenna and kneeled down beside her. Immediately a ring of fire formed around the two of them. No way out now. Bad memories came back to Jenna. The last time she was caught in the middle of a ring of fire she had died afterwards. Something told Jenna to just kill the witch right here before she could do anything else, but she still felt too weak.

Sophie took a little syringe out of her jacket pocket and without hesitation injected Jenna with the clear liquid. "This is just a precaution. It's vervain. Can't have you regain your strength just yet and kill us all, wouldn't you agree?" Jenna did not agree at all. The vervain took effect immediately and Jenna slumped back down to the ground.

"For what it's worth, it wasn't supposed to be you here. It should've been Klaus. It's his help we need, but I guess he won't help us by simply being asked nicely." Sophie took out a knife out of her other jacket pocket. Jenna wondered what else she was hiding in there. Sophie cut Jenna's hand and let some of her blood drip into a bowl and then she did the same with her own hand.

"You wanted to use vervain to kidnap him?" If Jenna could've snorted she would have.

"Well, we knew it wouldn't be easy, but we had a plan. Then Marcel's vampires showed up and messed everything up." Sophie took a deep breath, "So you became our improvised Plan B. As for the vervain, I like to carry it with me as a precaution. You never know when you might need it."

"How did you even know that we would be coming?" Jenna asked.

"I told you we have eyes and ears everywhere. Besides it was really just a matter of time until Klaus would have come to see me about my sister. We were prepared to wait. Luckily, it didn't take very long." Sophie explained.

The witches took their places around the circle of fire and began chanting. Jenna couldn't help but panic a little and it must've shown, because Sophie looked at her with sympathy, "Don't worry, we won't kill you. You'll be alright." Somehow Jenna doubted that.

Lights flickered and the fire encircling Jenna and Sophie seemed to grow hotter with each passing second. Sophie started to chant with her friends and kept a tight hold on Jenna's hand. This was not going to end well, Jenna just knew it. Whatever might have happened afterwards Jenna wouldn't remember. She passed out.

**xxxxxxx**

About half an hour later Klaus' phone had beeped, signaling that he had received a text message. At first he had been relieved to read Jenna's name on the display, but after reading the message he wasn't so relieved anymore. The message had told him to meet Sophie at the cemetery if he wanted Jenna back.

Elijah had followed Klaus. He didn't want for his brother to get into any more trouble. Of course he also wanted to make sure Jenna was alright. He still wasn't entirely sure what to think about her reappearance. He had met Jenna back in Mystic Falls and found her quite likeable. He had used her to get to Elena, but still he had never wanted for her to get hurt or killed. It made him feel even guiltier about breaking his promise help defeat his brother that he had given to Elena. And now, for some reason, Jenna Sommers was not only back from the dead but had become important to his brother and Elijah saw an opportunity in that. Maybe she was the one to finally help his brother to change his ways or maybe Elijah was reading entirely too much into it. Either way he wanted her to be safe.

Klaus and Elijah walked up to the main gate of the cemetery where Sophie already waited for them, but when they tried to enter the cemetery they found they couldn't. An invisible barrier stopped them from entering through the gate.

"It's sacred ground. Vampires can't enter without permission." Sophie explained. Smart, Elijah thought, this way they wouldn't be able to get to her.

"Alright we're here. What game are you playing?" Klaus asked.

A little further down the way Klaus could see two witches who had linked her arms with Jenna. Jenna was barely holding herself up on her feet. She leaned heavily against the two witches to either of her side who kept her upright.

Klaus took a sharp breath in, "What did you do?"

Sophie glanced at Jenna and turned back to Klaus, "Don't worry, she'll be fine as soon as the vervain has worn off."

Klaus was glaring daggers at Sophie and for a moment Elijah was sure that the only thing holding his brother back from snapping the witch's neck was the invisible barrier between them. He tried to defuse the situation, "I suppose this is the part where you tell us the why and how."

Sophie cleared her throat and began to explain, "First of all, this is not how this was supposed to go. My sister gave her life in order to find out how Marcel was controlling us. How he could possibly know where and who is doing magic."

"What does my brother have to do with this?" Elijah asked immediately.

Sophie shrugged, "With what my sister did? Nothing."

"So you didn't use magic to bring Klaus here, but to spy on Marcel. I assume it got you nowhere. Your sister died for nothing." Then Elijah turned to his brother, "How did you even learn of a witch conspiring against you? Why did you think that was what's going on here?"

"Katarina had sent me a letter." Klaus waved his brother's annoying question away. He was more interested in getting answers and getting Jenna back.

Elijah raised an eyebrow, "Katarina?"

Klaus shrugged and explained annoyed, "Yes, her. You know she's always trying to find a new way to be pardoned."

"It's true." Sophie confirmed, "Katherine Pierce had passed through here a couple of weeks ago and told us about Klaus, the hybrid. Of course we had heard of you before, but we weren't actually sure you were really a hybrid until she confirmed it. She also told us about your friendship with Marcel. We thought that if we could convince you to help us and show you what Marcel had done with this place during your absence you might help us. We were desperate."

"Then why not just ask?" Klaus asked the witch.

"We were going to, but you ruined everything by killing one of Marcel's vampires." Sophie half shouted at him, "By going against Marcel you lost the necessary trust to infiltrate his inner circle. Your goals don't seem to align with our, so we took more drastic measures."

Klaus couldn't help but smile at the memory, "Technically he's not dead yet."

"But he will be." Sophie took a deep breath. She seemed less confident now than before and a lot more tired. That's when Elijah decided to bring the conversation back to the beginning, "Why did you take Jenna? What did you do to her?"

"I linked myself to her." For her next words she looked directly into Klaus' eyes, "If you kill me, which I can tell you're just dying to do, she'll die with me."

Sophie gave the two Originals a moment to let that sink in, "Think of it as an incentive for you, Klaus, to find a way to stop Marcel and free the witches. If you don't help us, I'll kill myself. I got nothing to lose at this point."

Klaus smiled coldly at Sophie, "What makes you think I care?"

"You do." Was all Sophie said and the smile dropped from Klaus' face again. Sophie nodded at the two witches behind her and they stepped forward, dragging Jenna with them. They were careful not to cross the gate. After all they were not linked to Jenna and they probably wouldn't be spared if the hybrid got his hands on them. Both witches let go of Jenna and pushed her out of the gate. Jenna stumbled but Klaus caught her easily and lifted her up into his arms.

On her way back further into the cemetery Sophie turned one last time, "You better get started. We'll be in touch."

Klaus exchanged a look with his brother and they were gone.

**xxxxxxx**

Jenna heard voices, but they sounded far away. She thought she heard something like _this is getting out of control _and _she's not picking up _followed by an exasperated sigh. It didn't make much sense to her. She was in the dark, literally. Her eyelids felt heavy, but Jenna felt herself wake up slowly.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." Klaus' voice pulled her fully back to consciousness. For a moment she thought she was still at the cemetery with the witches, but as soon as her eyes adjusted she realized she was back in the house on the plantation. A million questions raced through her head, but she really only wanted to get one thing straight.

"I wasn't really all there earlier. So I have to ask. Did Sophie say my life is bound to hers?" Klaus nodded. "She dies, I die?" Klaus nodded again. "That witch!"

Jenna sighed, "I'm sorry."

„It's not your fault." He was speaking to her softly again, that's how much she screwed up, she thought. Klaus reached out his hand to Jenna and pulled her up into a sitting position.

"I guess I should have…maybe told you earlier why I wanted to…" Klaus was saved from awkwardly admitting partial fault when his brother entered the room.

"Glad to see you awake again." Elijah smiled at Jenna. Something about him just made Jenna feel calm and save. She smiled back at him. Klaus took her hand and her focus shifted over to the other brother again.

"I'll fix it." Klaus sounded so determined; Jenna just had to believe it. Elijah seemed more doubtful, "How you're going to do that?"

"I will go and apologize to Marcel, try to get back in good with him and then find out how in the world he controls the witches. Then we get Sophie and Jenna unlinked and after that…well, after that I kill everybody and we can all live happily ever after."

"Well, at least you have a plan." Elijah said dryly and sat down beside Jenna, handing her a glass filled with blood. Jenna took it gratefully and started to gulp it down.

Klaus got up off the couch and put his jacket on, "Don't worry, I got this."

Before anyone could stop him he was out the door. Elijah got his phone out of his jacket, "I need to make a call. Will you be alright?"

Jenna nodded and watched Elijah leave the room. What a day, she thought. Somehow she couldn't help but feel like it was her fault. Sure, Sophie and the others would have done something eventually, but did she really have to lead them right into it? How could things go so wrong within only 48 hours? She must have the worst luck in the world.

**xxxxxxx**

Klaus could not believe he was really about to do this. If there was one thing he hated it was showing weakness, even the pretend kind, and all because of Sophie Deveraux. Curse that witch.

He followed one of Marcel's vampires up to a bedroom where the vampire he had bit was slowly dying. When he entered the room all eyes immediately turned on him. Something he was used to.

"What are you doing here?" One of the vampires in the room asked incredulously.

Klaus scanned the room quickly. Six vampires in total: two to his left, one behind him, the one he had bit on the bed, beside him another one and of course Marcel in the middle of the room. No sign of Diego, though.

"I came to apologize, of course. I had lost my temper for a moment and I want to make it up to you. It's your town now, I get that, and I don't want to lose you as my friend. That's why I came to save yours." For just a moment Klaus wondered if they would really buy it. He wouldn't.

"Save him? You bit him and now he's slowly dying from werewolf poisoning." Marcel looked dangerously close to exploding. Klaus had to admit the vampire really didn't look too good. He was pale, his face was covered in sweat and he had difficulty breathing. Funny, Klaus thought, the poison must make him feel like he's slowly suffocating. He wondered if the visions had started yet.

Klaus laughed and shook his head to clear his thoughts, "But that's the great thing about being a hybrid. My bite poisons, but my blood heals. You got to love nature for that one. Here let me show you." Klaus walked over to a table in the corner and picked up a glass. Without hesitation he bit his wrist and let some of his blood trip into the glass. Afterwards he held it out to Marcel and waited for him to take it, "Go on, it will save your friend."

Marcel looked skeptical and only hesitantly nodded towards one of his men to take the glass. It seemed to Klaus that everyone in the room was still waiting for something bad to happen. Clearly none of them had expected him to be bold enough to show his face here after what he had done the other night.

Klaus didn't care what they thought; all he needed was for them to be in a forgiving mood. Of course, he didn't feel like apologizing at all and if it weren't for Jenna he would definitely prefer a more violent course of action. He took what he wanted and didn't stop to ask for permission. But since Sophie Deveraux had the upper hand for the moment, Klaus needed to rethink his next move. He might not be the most loyal person on the planet, but he wouldn't lose Jenna because some witch thought she could play games with him. He could wait until the binding spell would be broken and then get back at the witch for what she did. Contrary to what other thought of him, he could very well be patient.

Across the room the dying vampire drank from the glass with difficulty and coughed right after. He groaned and fell back onto the bed. It took a few of seconds, but some of the color was already returning to his pale face and his breathing became less labored. It was working.

"So, he's going to be just fine. What do say, forgive me?" Klaus smiled in a way that he knew Marcel couldn't outright refuse him now. He hadn't lied, he had saved his friend. He didn't even need his trust at this point. All he needed was official permission to remain in New Orleans. Not that he would be going anywhere.

Marcel nodded, "This is my town and I expect you to follow my rules."

Klaus held his hands up in a surrendering gesture, "I promise to be on my best behavior." He extended his hand and waited for Marcel to take it.

The younger vampire looked determined and shook his old friend's hand, "You can stay and so can your little blonde friend, but there is one more thing we need to talk about."

"And what would that be?" Klaus asked.

Marcel smiled mysteriously and Klaus didn't like it, "Something one of my men reported to me earlier today. But, please, why don't we go and sit somewhere more comfortable." Marcel led the way without checking if Klaus was following.

**xxxxxxx**

Jenna sat at the kitchen counter slowly drinking the blood she had poured herself. Her hands were slightly shaking and she felt…well, she didn't really know how she felt. It was late and she wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and forget all about today. She couldn't believe she actually felt sorry for Sophie. She certainly didn't like being used as a pawn.

Jenna sighed and downed the last of the blood before she got up. She was about to leave and lie down when she heard Elijah's voice from outside.

"I wish you would reconsider." Elijah exhaled loudly and sat down on a chair on the porch, "Things are spiraling out of control here. He's already in trouble and I'm not sure if I can get him out of it on my own."

Rebekah's voice came from the other end of the line, "I don't care. Haven't you done enough? It shouldn't be your responsibility. Or mine for that matter."

"I guess that's just what older brothers do, Rebekah. We care about and protect our younger siblings."

Jenna had opened the kitchen door and leaned against the doorframe. The conversation between Elijah and his sister continued like this back and forth for a little while longer. Rebekah wasn't thrilled about joining her brothers in New Orleans, but Elijah tried everything to make her change her mind.

After a couple of more minutes, Elijah ended the call and put his phone back into his suite jacket. He didn't look her way, but of course he would know that Jenna was there, "I take it you're feeling better."

"The vervain has worn off, yes." Jenna pushed off the doorframe and sat down in a chair beside Elijah, "Do you think your sister will come?"

Jenna had never officially met Rebekah, only ever seen her as a ghost. She wondered what it would be like to have her around and if they would get along. What would Rebekah say when she learned about Jenna? Accept her or kill her?

Elijah shrugged, "Rebekah, she's…well, I can't really say if she will come, but I hope so. We are family and we should stick together."

Jenna nodded and wondered what Klaus was doing right now. He had promised her that he would take care of things and Jenna believed him. She just wasn't sure how he would manage that. Jenna's life was bound to Sophie Deveraux's. If she died then Jenna would die, too. In order not to have Sophie do something stupid like killing herself, Klaus needed to get in good with Marcel again. Jenna couldn't really see how that would happen, but Klaus had seemed confident when he left earlier. She hoped it was working out.

"Don't worry, my brother will fix things with Marcel." Jenna looked skeptical and Elijah explained further, "Marcel and Klaus have a history together and I don't think that either of them wants to really hurt or kill the other one. I could be wrong about this, of course. But Marcel knows better than to make Klaus his enemy. It would be foolish."

"But he bit one of his vampires right in front of everyone and now he's slowly dying. If I were Marcel I would be furious. How can someone forgive something like that so easily?" Jenna couldn't wrap her head around this.

Elijah smiled, "You forgave my brother for killing you."

Jenna was momentarily stunned. Had she forgiven Klaus for killing her? She didn't hold it against him anymore; at least she thought she didn't. They had never really talked about it and he had never officially apologized for it either. Whenever a conversation would shift towards this topic it became awkward and one of the two changed the subject.

Elijah studied the blond vampire's face in front of him, who seemed to have gotten lost in her thoughts.

"Or have you?" But before Jenna could formulate an answer, Elijah went on, "You're young and you still see the world in a black and white spectrum for the most part, but when you lived a century or two, you will understand that it's really all just a grey area."

Elijah shrugged, "Besides, my brother has a way to get people's forgiveness, even when he doesn't deserve it."

"Like with you and Rebekah." Jenna guessed.

Elijah nodded and turned his gaze towards the woods at the end of the plantation. It was interesting to talk to Elijah, Jenna thought. He was calm and seemed to know about a lot of things. She had instantly liked him when she had met him back in Mystic Falls. Not in a romantic way, but she couldn't deny there was just something very appealing about him. And he was easily the best dressed man she had ever met. In a way, Jenna figured, Elijah was her way to get to know Klaus better, to understand him better. The little things that Klaus didn't want to share or didn't find important enough to mention, those things she could learn from Elijah.

Jenna leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Before she knew it she was asleep.


End file.
